MSME Development Specialist Shauna Marshall wants Caribbean small business owners to take their businesses seriously. She shared this on the Island Woman podcast with Dianne N Squires, noting the massive contribution these businesses make to Caribbean economies. Her “Business & Bites” event, initiated in Barbados four years ago to celebrate MSME Day, has now grown into a full-fledged MSME ecosystem, which she plans to take region-wide. 

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Shauna Marshall of SMB Consulting Services has become our first repeat guest on the podcast. Her no-nonsense business advice on a season 2 episode, “From Solopreneur to Enterprise”, made it one of the most watched and listened to episodes of that season. This time around, we had the chance to talk about how an event she conceptualised four years ago to celebrate MSME Day has not only a major sponsored event for the community but has transformed into an ecosystem where MSME players can connect, learn and get support. It now has the backing of major financial services company Payce Digital, which will open credit opportunities and payment systems learning to MSMEs in the Business and Bites network. Shauna has huge ambitions for her business and the Business and Bites platform, and of course we talked about how that matches up to her state of wellbeing – she’s working on that last part. 

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Shauna Marshall

03:41 Ambition and Daily Rituals

06:39 The Importance of Visibility

09:40 Creating Change Through Voice

13:07 Structural Challenges for MSMEs

18:13 Building Business and Bytes Ecosystem

23:03 Ambition and Well-Being: A Balancing Act

25:52 The Importance of Systems for Growth

29:01 MSMEs: The Backbone of Economic Growth

32:11 Taking Yourself Seriously as a Business Owner

36:00 The Power of Voice and Visibility

Connect with Island Woman 

Follow the podcast, get direct access to upcoming masterclass updates, and secure private invitations for the Rooted and Ready 90-day program or the Island Woman Authority Suite by following our WhatsApp channel.

📲 https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7lcdnEFeXrxlKuY31L 

or email: diannensquires@diannensquires.com

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Connect with Dianne N Squires

LinkedIn: @Dianne N Squires 

linkedin.com/in/dianne-n-squires-a2389132

Email: diannensquires@diannensquires.com

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Connect with Shauna Marshall and SMB Consulting Services 

Websites: 

https://smbconsultingservices.com/

https://businessandbites.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shauna-marshall/

Instagram: @consultingsmb – https://www.instagram.com/consultingsmb/

Facebook.com: 

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Dianne N. Squires is a Strategic Communications leader, Founder of Dianne N Squires Consulting (DNSC), and host of the Island Woman Podcast. Her work centres on elevating voice, visibility and impact for Caribbean changemakers.

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The Island Woman podcast has been recognised by Feedspot as one of the Top 30 Island Podcasts on the web. Feedspot is an RSS Reader that lets you follow your favorite podcasts alongside blogs and news in one place.

Check out the list here: https://podcast.feedspot.com/island_podcasts/?feed_id=8701532&_src=f2_featured_email#h8701532

#IslandWomanPodcast #Caribbeanpodcast #MSMEdevelopment #strategy #businessecosystem #Caribbeanwomanfounder #ambitionandwellbeing

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